Forevermore
by DarkenedStar
Summary: Even the toughest of fighters break down at some point. The real strength lies in learning how to stand up again. KBOW one-shot.


The twenty-two year old woman's shoulders shook violently as she fell to the ground unceremoniously. She tried in vain to muffle her sobbing with her hand as she curled up in a ball on her flat's champagne carpet.

Katie was a fighter, without a doubt, but even she broke down from the weight of it all at times. She wept, clearly disheartened by the loneliness she harbored in her heart. Her friends could never provide the same comfort that her love could and she needed him most now.

The chaser tried to understand why he wasn't there to hold her and wipe her tears away. Sometimes she was able to make sense of why he left but at that moment all reasons evaded her.

Katie clenched her fists and pulled at her hair, desperately trying to bring herself back to her senses and to reassure herself that all of her trudging through the muck of life was not in vain.

"I…. miss…. yoooouuuuuuu…." she wailed into a pillow, her knuckles white from gripping it so tightly.

She rolled around on the floor, struggling to regain some sliver of happiness. The memories that she once held so dear- her only hope of salvaging sanity- flitted just out of reach and scoffed at her pathetic form.

A hand suddenly reached down to lightly touch her shoulder. She froze in mid-sob and turned to look up cautiously. Her face lit up instantly and even more tears streamed out of her eyes as she tossed the pillow away and threw herself into Oliver's embrace. He held her tightly to his body and rocked her back and forth slightly, wordlessly comforting her.

She cried even harder now, but this time half out of joy. "I missed you so much," she choked through the tears.

Oliver nodded, understanding how much she cared for him, and held her even closer. She clutched onto his shirt tightly, refusing to let go. His intoxicating scent lingered around her nose and calmed her slightly.

"I love you more than anything, Oliver. You mean the world to me." The tears refused to cease but she didn't care. The love of her life was here and nothing could ever be more important. She was torn between wanting to never let go of him and wanting to pull away to look at his beautiful face. It had been far too long since they had seen each other. In the end she decided to pull away just long enough to reposition her arms above his shoulders so she was clinging to his neck.

The mix of pain and bliss revealed within Oliver's eyes showed Katie that her emotions were matched by the man holding her… and nothing had ever provided as much comfort as they did at that moment. Never had he wanted so badly to heal her wounds as he did now. The tender condition of his fiancé tore him to pieces but he was here to hold her now. The features on his face hadn't changed in the years that had passed since Katie last saw him but that didn't come as much of a surprise to her.

She played with his hair subconsciously and broke out into a teary smile. "I knew you hadn't left me," she squeaked.

He shook his head and moved his left hand to cup her chin while the other was placed behind her neck. He pulled her into a gentle kiss, their velvet lips touching ever so softly making her heart race faster and faster. Her breath caught in her throat; it was like their first kiss all over again and she loved every second of it. His kisses were chaste and completely drenched with his sincere emotions for her.

All Oliver wanted was to make Katie smile again. He wanted to hear her cute laughter and see her dorky little pouts. He wanted to tackle her in a play fight and listen to her giggle fits as he tickled her with no mercy. Oliver wanted to kiss her every moment he could for the rest of her life and then until time stopped. He wanted to hold her for all of eternity and never be taken away from her again.

They remained tangled in each other's embrace for some time, her occasionally sniffling and hiccupping while he just stroked her back gently, giving his every effort to console the poor woman.

Slowly he started to pull away just enough to look at Katie. Her eyes went wild and she began wailing again. "No! No no no no no! Please don't leave me again, Oliver! I love you so much! I can't do this without you… please don't leave." Half of her pleading was a jumbled slur but Oliver knew what she meant.

He pulled her to her feet and held her firmly until she was able to support herself.

Katie tried to be strong; she really did. But she knew what was going on and for the life of her, she couldn't stop bawling. She latched onto him in foolish hopes that it would enable Oliver to stay but he slowly forced himself to back away. Katie's arms fell helplessly to her sides as her shoulders shook harder with grief. "I love you!" she cried, wishing she could prove just how much the man in front of her meant.

Oliver smiled cheerfully at Katie as his image started to fade more and more. "I will love you for all of eternity, Baby Doll. Never forget that. I'll be right beside you forevermore." He disappeared with his words and Katie was left to herself again.

The girl crumpled to the ground, her legs suddenly not sturdy enough to sustain her. Tears flowed carelessly but Katie had stopped wailing as the words sunk in._ 'He'll be beside me forevermore,' _she thought, the words somehow giving her enough strength to calm herself and to stop the flow of tears. She mulled the words over for a long time and finally pushed herself from the floor with a new fierce determination.

Katie forced her chin up and reached for the framed photograph of Oliver that was resting on her coffee table. Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked at her beloved fiancé with a smile. "You really are my knight in shining armor, Oliver. If you're going to stand by my side, I'll fight for our love, too. I can't wait to meet you in Heaven, Babe. I'll never let you go again."

* * *

This is my first ever one-shot. I got the idea and couldn't resist writing it.

I love you, HB!


End file.
